How Will Netflix And Amazon’s Anime Strike Fix Their Anime Problems?

There’s a war lurking beneath your favorite streaming services that you may not be paying attention to. While most mainstream coverage of Netflix and Amazon’s streaming plans have focused on their Emmy nominations and expensive new projects, both services have been quietly amping up their presence in the world of anime. And neither company is slowing down.

It makes sense, especially for two companies that feel more and more comfortable investing in original content by the year. Securing critical favor is a notoriously difficult task. Even if the show or movie you’ve invested millions in hits all of the prestige TV notes, there’s always a chance it won’t be as beloved or well-discussed as you expect. Netflix saw a bit of this with its slow-burn drama Bloodline, and Amazon continues to see it with its smart alternative history series The Man in the High Castle. Both shows are brilliant in their own ways but have never reached the level of being an indisputable top critical darling. It’s even more difficult to predict what new show mainstream audiences will love. In an highly competitive and overcrowded television landscape, focusing on anime is a smart bet.

Historically, fans of anime or Japanese-inspired animation have been an underserved market. Most major networks still ignore the genre, even though two channels were able to achieve major success largely through their focus on Japanese animation. In the late ‘90s, the WB stood alongside bigger names like Nickelodeon, Disney, and Cartoon Network when it came to children’s programming all because of its Pokémon-led anime block (Pokémon later went to Cartoon Network). Likewise, the anime block Toonami drastically helped transform Adult Swim from just a late night version of Cartoon Network into becoming its own quirky brand. If a mainstream streaming service were able to connect some of the best adaptations to the right international audiences, there’s the potential to tap into one of the most dedicated and obsessive pop culture fan bases ever to exist.

Amazon’s jump into the world of anime has been a bit more splashy and focused. Whereas Netflix’s anime content is housed alongside the rest of its library, Amazon launched the the Amazon Channel Anime Strike. For $4.99 a month in addition to the cost of a Amazon Prime subscription ($99 a year), viewers can have access to a solid streaming service that offers a curated selection of anime content as well as several U.S. exclusives. There’s a lot of subpar anime in the world. Anime Strike hopes to sort through all the bad and offer its subscribers only the cream of the crop, which certainly should have an appeal to any casual fan of the genre. It also seems to be doing its job well, having secured exclusive U.S. access to well-loved shows such as Scrum’s Wish, Chi’s Sweet Adventure, Made in Abyss, and Love and Lies. There’s a big market available to whichever streaming service can figure out this tricky subgenre, but at present, neither service has completely figured it out.

Because I am a very casual fan of anime, most of my knowledge of these complaints comes fromsocial media chatter. However, YouTube user Gigguk summed up the main problems of both streaming services in their video “Netflix and Anime Strike: An Open Letter from an Anime Fan.” Unsurprisingly, the main complaint against Netflix deals with its release dates and its lack of a simulcast option. Because of Netflix’s distribution model, new seasons of an anime are typically not released until the entire season has finished in Japan. Because of that and because Netflix drops seasons at a time instead of spreading our episodes like Hulu and HBO, there is currently no simulcast option for anime — a function that’s essential to a community that enjoys watching new episodes of a series together. Decider reached out to Netflix for comment regarding whether or not Netflix is considering adding a simulcasting option for users and has not heard back. If that changes, we will update the article accordingly.

Photo: Amazon, Anime Strike

Conversely, one of Anime Strike’s greatest strengths is its ability to simulcast the titles it has exclusive access to. This has marked a trend in the platform. As Anime Strike has grown since its launch, it has shown a willingness to learn and grow from the community it wants to sell to, from its selection of exclusive titles to its plans to possibly partner with Twitch to create a viewing social platform for fans. However, Anime Strike’s price point still makes the streaming service a difficult sell, particularly if a viewer doesn’t already have an Amazon Prime account.

When Decider asked if the service had any plans to lower the cost of Anime Strike or offer it at a higher price without a Prime subscription, and Amazon spokesperson had this to say:

“We wanted to create a separate, curated channel apart from Prime Video. This allowed us to go deeper into the content, dedicate marketing, and create benefits specific to this audience. Additionally, subscribers will find much more anime content as part of the subscription than what can be found in Prime Video, which is similar to other Channel subscriptions like HBO and PBS Kids, as an example. Besides the Prime benefits (like free, 2-day shipping, Prime Twitch, Prime Music, and Prime Reading), membership also opens the door to new, more convenient ways to shop like Prime Now.”

Of course, there are other anime-specific streaming services on the market, including Crunchyroll and Funimation. However, these options aren’t perfect. Funimation, though it is a crisp streaming service and reasonably priced at $5.99 a month, only offers shows from Funimation. Crunchyroll, with its its free membership option, vast library, and large array of simulcasts, still seems to be king of this particular niche. However, its streaming service remains a bit overwhelming, especially for the mid-to-low level anime fan. Also, niche streaming services are always a bit of a hard sell for casual audiences.

I have no doubt that Crunchyroll will continue to succeed in its niche market. It has a dedicated fan base, and it knows its audience well. However, there is a subsection of casual anime fans that are currently being underserved, and both Netflix and Amazon seem to be targeting them. Whichever mainstream streaming service (Hulu included) manages to crack this complicated problem is likely going to walk away very happy. But at this point in the fight, it’s unclear who the winner will be.